please try to make yourself a little clearer. Do you mean someone who is an adherent of that religion, but doesn't seem to be so?
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ThursagenSep 20 '11 at 8:33

@Thurs: I think the OP means a person is born into a certain religion, but does not actively practise or believe in it.
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JoseKSep 20 '11 at 8:45

@JoseK, thanks. Ooh, there's a nice name filling thing now when I type comments
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ThursagenSep 20 '11 at 8:46

@JoseK, that would be 'born [religion]' and might not be what OP wants. Mahjoob, you should specify (or give examples) of what kind of adhering is practiced - if the complete adhering is practiced then the person is a firm believer; if only some adhering occurs then it is important what type...
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UnreasonSep 20 '11 at 9:27

5

This question needs to be clarified - in present form it is ambiguous and self-contradicting (most answers present very different answers that are correct depending on how the question is interpreted).
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UnreasonSep 20 '11 at 12:22

I think a heretic is sincere, in that they openly profess, act, and believe consistently, just that it is different from what everybody else does (and everybody else is intolerant of that difference).
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MitchSep 20 '11 at 12:46

I don't at all disagree, Mitch. I interpreted the question to be asking after just such a person - someone who adheres to a religion but is, in actuality (from the speaker's perspective, at least), not a "true believer". I don't think the question is entirely clear when it comes to the person's sincerity ("adhere" is rather vague), so I can see why words like hypocrite were suggested, too.
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onomatomaniakSep 20 '11 at 14:32

Oh, I see now. Really much more ambiguous a question than I thought..every part depends on a possibly different point of view, who is doing the adhering, who is the judge of true believer, what each individual believes or not.
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MitchSep 20 '11 at 18:01

I see why you said this but I think the better word would be "apostate".
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WudangSep 20 '11 at 22:15

Though hypocrite is the probable expected one-word answer, there is another concept which fits the description. Throughout history there have been many instances where an invading or ruling class forces a group of people to convert to the main religion (at least in the west this has occurred in many directions among Christians, Jews, and Muslims). In English such a person is called a:

forced convert

Many convert altogether, but some, despite outwardly keeping the converted practices, maintain hidden privately the religious practices and beliefs of preconversion religion (and this can be for generations).

There are a number of specific terms for a Jew who was forced to convert but maintained practices and/or beliefs in private (and descendants who maintain them too). The accepted term in English is the borrowing from Hebrew:

I don't know about other belief systems, but Christians commonly refer to this as in name -- as in somebody is a Christian in name if they label themselves as Christians but don't actually believe in its tenants or live by them. It is also common to use expressions like cultural Christian for those who let themselves wear the label but don't actually know or believe in the teachings.

In spite of the dictionary definition being so similar, the term nominal tends to have a different shade of meaning than saying in name. A nominal Christian, for example, would imply a shade stronger adherence to the beliefs, but would be somebody who doesn't take them very seriously.

If the disbelief you mention is more active than passive, you could call them doubters or dissenters. It's possible to belief something and yet doubt aspects of it, in which case it's acceptable to be labeled like this. However at some point, if the doubting or dissenting becomes the defining feature, stronger descriptors such as hypocrite start becoming appropriate. Somebody who actively disbelieves rather than just questions and yet still labels themselves as Christian eventually stops having the right to use that label at all. If you keep down this path of holding dissenting views and yet claiming those views belong to the whole, eventually you become a heretic. Note that it's somebody who does not claim that their beliefs are Christian at all can't be labeled as a heretic. Heretical teachings give false doctrines under a wrong label.

It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people and encourages humanistic and secular Jews to celebrate their Jewish identity by participating in Jewish holidays and life cycle events (such as weddings and bar and bat mitzvah) with inspirational ceremonies that draw upon but go beyond traditional literature.

It would fit a specific type of disbeliever - so it might be completely inappropriate. Also, it seems to be a common term only for Judaism.

You should define what kind of adhering and for what purpose is going on for the term you seek.

"Usually belief is one of the requirements of most religions." Most modern Western religions, anyway. This doesn't apply to most forms of modern Paganism, where practice, not belief, is what matters.
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TRiGSep 23 '11 at 19:00